Keg Priming Instead Of Forced Carbonating?

[270win]

Gday all,

Been kegging for a little while now and have got forced carbonating pretty much worked out, must say Im a fan of just leaving it at pour pressure for a week, all good things to those who wait.

Anyway, currently have the fridge full and both my gas lines are used so I cant gas any more kegs at this stage (Have recently expanded my keg collection so this was not a problem before).

I am thinking of having a crack at priming the keg bottle style and leaving it for minimum two weeks.

Just wondering what peoples experience is doing this.

Are there any pit falls?
Does the beer condition better / worse?
Do you get a lot of sediment that clouds the beer or does it just pump it out in the first couple of pours?

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[dicko]

Gday all,

Been kegging for a little while now and have got forced carbonating pretty much worked out, must say Im a fan of just leaving it at pour pressure for a week, all good things to those who wait.

Anyway, currently have the fridge full and both my gas lines are used so I cant gas any more kegs at this stage (Have recently expanded my keg collection so this was not a problem before).

I am thinking of having a crack at priming the keg bottle style and leaving it for minimum two weeks.

Just wondering what peoples experience is doing this.

Are there any pit falls?
Does the beer condition better / worse?
Do you get a lot of sediment that clouds the beer or does it just pump it out in the first couple of pours?

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers.

Hi 270win,

I sometimes prime a keg and it works well.
I just dissolve the required amount of sugar in hot water and add it to the keg.
I then apply co2 to the keg to ensure that the lid seals properly and then leave it under the bench in the garage for two weeks.
The first couple of beers may be a bit cloudy but the kegs that i prime i have cut about 13mm off the pick up tube and this solves the problem.
I have not found any pit falls apart from the waiting two weeks and I notice that the beer seems to have a tighter head than force carbonating.
Give it a go, you really have nothing to lose.

Cheers

 

[Sammus]

I've read in some place that to prime a keg you must use less sugar than you normally would for bottle priming the same amount of beer. Anyone else heard this and know why it is so?

 

[dicko]

I've read in some place that to prime a keg you must use less sugar than you normally would for bottle priming the same amount of beer. Anyone else heard this and know why it is so?

Hi Sammus,

I would imagine that the concern would be the continued absorbtion of co2 with a chilled keg once it is being served.
I must say that it has never affected me as most kegs don't last that long at my place.
I have recently gone from the old "beer tap thru the fridge door" to an ice bank chiller so my kegs dont absorb very much more co2 as they are at room temperature for serving.

Cheers

 

[KGB]

^^^ Once the pour pressure is set then the ammount of gas absorbed by the beer shouldn't change, should it?
I don't see why you couldn't prime the same as you would to bulk prime a batch for bottling. I've toyed with the idea a few times but never actually done it - so I may be completely wrong of course!
I'd expect the first few beers to be a bit cloudy but after that it should be fine unless you are moving the keg around and disturbing the sediment that is further away from the dip tube.

 

[Whistlingjack]

I'm thinking about doing it for the weizenbock I have brewed. I would think that after the initial warm temperature conditioning, I could store it in the fridge for a time before tapping it.

The first couple of pours may contain yeast sediment but after that, I think it should be ok.

Suck it and see...

WJ

 

[The Big Burper]

I've read in some place that to prime a keg you must use less sugar than you normally would for bottle priming the same amount of beer. Anyone else heard this and know why it is so?

Hello dere,

The Coopers website FAQ section has a bit on natural conditioning in the keg. One thing that should be noted is that they recommend 4g/litre of priming sugar for the keg,
as against 8g/litre when bottling. So a 19 litre keg would only take 76g of priming sugar.

I have no idea why this is.

cheers
Dave

 

[Kleiny]

usually batch prime at the normal rate 180g of dextrose
fill the keg then the rest in stubbies

works great

good luck

 

[pint of lager]

Usually bulk prime the kegs here.

100 gms plain table sugar into the keg, rack onto it, burp the keg and pressurise to seal the lid, then leave it at carbonation temp for a week or two.

Only drawback is that if you want to take your kegs off site, the sediment will be stirred up.

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Only drawback is that if you want to take your kegs off site, the sediment will be stirred up.

You know it doesn't taste any different .. tell the punters that's how it's meant to come out .. or else serve beers in ceramic steins.

 

[gundaroo]

i put 10 teaspoons plain white suger/19litre and 20/50 litre keg.
i prefer to do it this way as i have quite a few kegs in storage and do not need the beer straight away.
when i first started i forced carbed,a freind told me to go the natural way and i havnt looked back,i did however use ,the comparable suger in the kegs to start off with and had alot of pressure and heady pours first off.after talking to the LHBS,he gave me the lower rates of priming sugar and as i said ,havnt looked back.
do most people add the sugar before or after the beer?.
cheers gundaroo

 

[MHB]

It's fairly useful to know that Sugar (Sucrose) and Dextrose produce different amounts of CO2 (and alcohol)

Generally sugar is said to produce 1.2 times as much as Dextrose, so when switching between the 2 allowances must be made.

MHB

 

[pint of lager]

Always put the sugar in first. Then add the beer. Otherwise it froths up. The same when bottling. Put the sugar in before adding the beer.

There is alot of dissolved carbon dioxide in your finished beer in the fermenter. This dissolved gas will very quickly come out of solution and is worse if you try adding the sugar last.

You see the same sort of effect if you pour beer (or champagne) into a dusty glass.

 

[KoNG]

I would echo the thoughts of those who mentioned sealing the hatch with a bit of co2. Not fun to come back a week later to realise all your priming gas has cruised out the lid seal. I prime at the same rate i would for bottles, which is stuff all for the english bitter's i use the process with.

 

[Steve]

I would echo the thoughts of those who mentioned sealing the hatch with a bit of co2. Not fun to come back a week later to realise all your priming gas has cruised out the lid seal. I prime at the same rate i would for bottles, which is stuff all for the english bitter's i use the process with.

After running out of gas the other day I've had to bulk prime a keg. Stuffed it up as I used 150gms of sugar dissolved in hot water. That was the amount I used to bulk prime with for 23 litres (bottles) NOT 19!. As i have no gas I cant squirt in a bit of gas to seal it. Would the CO2 from the carbing beer seal it anyway? If not you would nead to replace your o-rings etc? Not having much luck lately.
Cheers
Steve

 

[pint of lager]

I find 90 gms of sugar plenty to bulk prime a 19 litre keg. No need to dissolve it. Put it on the bottom of the keg and rack onto it. Same as for bottles.

Do not keg the beer and then add the sugar. If adding the sugar second, you definitely need it dissolved in water first.

It is almost impossible to tell if a keg is sealed or not without applying some pressure from the gas cylinder. If the keg is not sealed, you will find out in a few weeks time that the beer is flat.

If you have a well behaved seal, you can shake the keg and see if any beer comes out. You may get lucky and manage to seal the keg.

 

[Steve]

I find 90 gms of sugar plenty to bulk prime a 19 litre keg. No need to dissolve it. Put it on the bottom of the keg and rack onto it. Same as for bottles.

Do not keg the beer and then add the sugar. If adding the sugar second, you definitely need it dissolved in water first.

It is almost impossible to tell if a keg is sealed or not without applying some pressure from the gas cylinder. If the keg is not sealed, you will find out in a few weeks time that the beer is flat.

If you have a well behaved seal, you can shake the keg and see if any beer comes out. You may get lucky and manage to seal the keg.

It was a brand new lid seal, put it on yersterday. Will give it a shake tomorrow to test the seal. Thanks POL
Steve

 

[pint of lager]

I have quite a few kegs. Some seal up without a drama. Others, it takes a few goes to get the lid to seal up. These days, I pour a bit of water over all the lid, safety valve and poppets to make sure it is sealed after adding a bit of head pressure.

 

[MHB]

Like POL said

I just give the keg some gas, at what ever the serving pressure is, then next day tickle the PRV to see if it's holding.

Dam frustrating to come back to a keg months later and find its flat

MHB

 

[FarsideOfCrazy]

Instead of cutting the dip tube I read once that you should just bend it to the side so it's away from the sediment in the bottom, correct me if I'm wrong.